News

Over 300 million pairs of reusable shoes are being tossed into the trash every year, when they could be donated to be reused, resold or recycled.

In honor of Earth Day, GSACPC and Goodwill of Central Arizona are teaming up to host a recycling project, Scouting for Shoes. The drive kicked off this week and runs through Saturday, April 18.

To keep shoes from going directly to landfills, Girl Scouts are encouraged to collect unused shoes and donate them at select Goodwill locations. In exchange for their efforts, each girl will earn a Scouting for Shoes patch recognizing their commitment to our community and environment.

Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor turns 85 on Thursday, and Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council is marking the occasion with the Sandra Day O’Connor Civic Leadership Badge. This badge supports Justice O’Connor’s long-held mission of educating the next generation about civic engagement.

“Our nation can only be successful if all citizens understand how our democratic system works and get involved in it. The only way that can happen is through civic education for each new generation,” said Justice O’Connor.

To earn the badge, girls participate in interactive activities that teach them about the Supreme Court, Arizona’s government and laws, and women’s suffrage. Girls will also learn about Justice O’Connor’s legacy, civic principles and what it means to be an active citizen in their community. Throughout the process, girls reflect on Justice O’Connor’s upbringing, her challenges and accomplishments, and her political impact.

Prestigious Gold Award given to Girl Scouts for their impactful community service projects&period;&NewLine;

Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council is proud to announce that 25 outstanding young women have received their Girl Scout Gold Award&comma; the highest achievement in Girl Scouting&period;

This prestigious award requires a girl to stretch her skills and step forward as a leader to meet a local or global need&comma; and to create sustainable change&period; In the process&comma; she develops and enhances her own leadership&comma; determination&comma; creativity and confidence&period; The 25 girls receiving the Gold Award have given 2&comma;360 hours toward their Gold Award projects and for many of these girls&comma; this award is the culmination of more than 10 years in the Girl Scouts&period;

The girls will be honored at the 2015 Girl Scout Gold Award Celebration on Saturday&comma; March 28 at the Glendale Civic Center&period;

The awardees are&colon;

Maddie Allen&NewLine; Rio Salado Habitat Restoration&NewLine;Tempe

Maddie restored the diminishing wildlife habitat along the Salt River&period; She began by planting eight mesquite trees and installing irrigation so they could thrive&period; She also created an information board containing facts about the health and environmental benefits of the mesquite seed pods&period;&NewLine;

GSACPC reached a new milestone on its 103rd birthday during the groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday&comma; March 12&comma; at Camp Sombrero&period; Girl Scouts&comma; government and community leaders gathered with shovels and hard hats to officially celebrate the much anticipated new Leadership Center for Girls and Women&period;

The groundbreaking ceremony included remarks by Governor Doug Ducey and Congressman Ruben Gallego and a special blessing by Debra Thomas of the Tohono O’odham Nation accompanied by O’odham drummers&period;

"It's no accident that all former female Arizona governors were also former Girl Scouts&comma;" says Governor Ducey&period;

The Board of Directors developed a two-phase construction plan&period; The first phase includes the necessary infrastructure&comma; renovating the existing small lodge and pool center&comma; constructing cabins and three activity centers&period; Construction begins in May 2015 and will take about a year to complete&period;

Investing in the healthy development of girls is the most cost-efficient and impactful way to ensure healthy Arizona families and communities in the future&period;

We invite you to join us&excl; Invest in girls&period; Change the world&period;&period;&period;&period;

When girls participate in the Girl Scout Cookie Program&comma; they learn new skills and help sister Girl Scouts and their communities all while having fun&period;

Cadette Troop 634 made a change for the better&excl; The girls donated 700 toothbrushes and 590 tubes of toothpaste to a dental clinic&comma; &dollar;400 worth of clothes to a clothing drive&comma; 206 pounds of food to a homeless shelter&comma; 170 centerpieces for a retirement home&comma; 50 care packages for troops overseas&comma; and the list goes on and on&excl;

How did Troop 634 make this happen&quest; They came up with a resourceful money saving idea by using their cookie funds to purchase clearance and off-season items&period; For example&comma; during the fall&comma; the girls bought 69 backpacks for &dollar;1 each and 523 hand sanitizer bottles for &dollar;0&period;04 each&period; What a deal&excl;

When Rocky Point Dental Clinic asked for help&comma; the girls didn’t have the funds to buy toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste&period; Fortunately&comma; resourcefulness came to the rescue&excl; The girls contacted their local dentists and orthodontists to ask for donations and they were glad to help&period;

“If we all do a little&comma; we can do a lot&comma;&rdquor; said a member of Troop 634&period;

Troop 634 definitely knows how to create big results on a small budget&period; With some planning&comma; shopping off season and holding item drives&comma; these girls are making things better in their community&period; Way to go&comma; girls&excl; If you’d like to join Girl&period;&period;&period;

Did you know that Katy Perry LOVES Thin Mint cookies? She was pretty open about it during her preparation before her huge Super Bowl performance. It all started with a tweet, which gave GSACPC an idea to get those chilled Thin Mints over to Katy!

When girls sell cookies, they’re doing more than just helping their customers stock up on delicious treats. They’re doing it with a goal in mind. Whether that goal is a pizza party, a community project, or an adventurous trip with her troop, she knows how many boxes she needs to sell to make it happen.

Local Girl Scouts, Ellie and Kendra reached their goal of traveling across the world to England and France!

“We wanted to go because it’s an exciting way to meet new people, make friends from all over the world, and an opportunity to improve our leadership skills,” say Ellie and Kendra.

The girls worked hard to raise money by selling cookies, holding fundraisers and applying for financial aid. Through the Oxford Youth Leadership Destination Program, they had the opportunity to travel with 20 other U.S. Girl who all share the love of adventure.

Through Gift of Caring, a cookie donation program, Cadettes in Troop 444 donated 97 boxes of cookies to Phoenix Children's Hospital. The cookies were used to brighten up patients’ days when they were delivered on the hospital’s “Cookie Cart!”

The Gift of Caring program allows girls to learn about philanthropy and service by giving them an opportunity to donate cookies to an organization of their choosing. Or, girls can donate the cookies to Arizona Cactus-Pine Council, where they will be distributed to community partners like Saint Mary’s Food Bank or the USO.

Earn donations to Girl Scouts with your everyday purchases when you use a registered debit or credit card at qualifying businesses.You’ll earn 2% for GSACPC whenever you shop and checkout with your registered cards.

In honor of Super Bowl 49 happening in Arizona&comma; local Girl Scouts attempted to set the Guinness World Record for Most Money Raised for a Charity through the Sale of Cookies in 24 Hours&comma; by each girl selling 49 boxes within the timeframe&period;

The record attempt ended at 2&colon;59p&period;m&period;&comma; January 31&comma; but Girl Scouts had officially surpassed the minimum required by Guinness to set the record by 1pm&period;

Girl Scouts reported &dollar;355&comma;024 in the official Wells Fargo bank account holding all Guinness purchase deposits as of 2&colon;59p&period;m&comma; January 31&period; That’s roughly 88&comma;756 boxes accounted for in 24 hours&period; We needed to raise at least &dollar;75&comma;000 and had set a stretch goal of &dollar;100&comma;000&period; Here’s the play by play of account updates from earlier today&colon;

&NewLine;

11 a&period;m&period;&comma; &dollar;30&comma;000

&NewLine;

12 p&period;m&period;&comma; &dollar;42&comma;000

&NewLine;

1 p&period;m&period;&comma; &dollar;77&comma;000

&NewLine;

2 p&period;m&period;&comma; &dollar;123&comma;000

&NewLine;

So&comma; unofficially&comma; the Girl Scouts of Arizona Cactus-Pine Council have attained the Guinness World Record&comma; just in time for the big game in Arizona&period; The official verification process involves sending copies of all deposit slips along with pictures and written accounts of the Record Attempt to the official Guinness advisors handling the council’s submission&comma; who are based in the U&period;K&period;

Six hundred troops&comma; amounting to thousands of Girl Scouts took part in this attempt and covered their neighborhoods&comma; Super Bowl Central&comma; hospitality venues&comma; and every single Fry’s Fo&period;&period;&period;

World Thinking Day lets visitors discover the world&comma; without leaving Phoenix&excl;

Each year&comma; this signature Girl Scout festival gives the opportunity for girls to participate in activities and projects with global themes to honor their sister Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 150 other countries&period; Not only does this event give girls a chance to celebrate international friendships&comma; it is also a reminder that Girl Scouts is part of a global community&period;

With this year’s theme&comma; “We can create peace through partnerships&comma;&rdquor; the focus is on uniting worldwide within our own communities&comma; for peace&period;

Be prepared to dance&comma; play games and try exotic foods&excl; Plus&comma; see a special performance from the Kawambe-Omawale African Drum and Dance Theatre troupe&period;

There’s lots of ways to get involved&excl; These NEW activities allow you to creatively express yourself at Word Thinking Day&excl;

Speak&comma; Drum&comma; Dance February 14 &verbar; Arizona School for the Arts &dollar;15 per girl Grades 4-12 Take advantage of an extra-special opportunity to perform at World Thinking Day&excl; Participants will learn a routine from the Kawambe-Omowale dance troupe&period; Girls will also make a d&period;&period;&period;

Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council is pleased to announce the return of its award-winning Girl Scout Cookie Dessert Challenge&period; For the second year in a row&comma; chefs from some of the state’s most popular restaurants will use their culinary prowess to re-imagine one of the beloved flavors of Girl Scout cookies – Do-Si-Dos&comma; Samoas Tagalongs&comma; Thin Mints&comma; Trefoils&comma; and new flavor Rah Rah Raisins – into a custom dessert menu item&period; Each restaurant has agreed to feature its dessert on its menu from February 1 to February 28&comma; 2015&comma; with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the transformation of the local Council’s Camp Sombrero to a Leadership Center for Girls and Women&period;

The participating restaurants&comma; and their creative desserts&comma; are&colon;

Teresa Miller, Girl Scout alumna and Director of Finance and Planning at the Arizona Cardinals, reminisces growing up green and how it impacted her life.

When the University of Phoenix stadium was underway, Teresa was hired by Arizona Cardinals in 2006. They were expanding the finance department and she came on board as an accountant.

She can’t help but credit her Girl Scout experience for her successful career.

“Girl Scouting was really a foundation for learning - learning about myself, my interests and about others around me. I learned how to be a leader AND when to follow. It pushed me to be involved, because without it I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to serve my community the way I did.”

With NEW Cookie Flavors&comma; Record Setting Goals&comma; Cookie Dessert Challenge

For six weeks each year&comma; Girl Scouts in Arizona participate in the largest girl-led business&colon; the Girl Scout Cookie Program&period; From January 26 to March 8&comma; more than 17&comma;000 girls in central and northern Arizona will be walking around neighborhoods with delicious cookies in hand and boothing in front of local stores&period;

The 2015 Cookie Season will be an extra special one for Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council &lpar;GSACPC&rpar;&period; After the most successful sale in the council’s history&comma; local Girl Scouts will have even more going for them&period; They are introducing new cookie flavors and attempting to set new records – all in the name of girl leadership development and making an impact on the local community&period;

New Cookie Flavors

GSACPC is introducing new cookie flavors to the beloved lineup&period; “The main attraction to the lineup is Rah-Rah Raisins&comma;&rdquor; says Tamara Woodbury&comma; GSACPC CEO&comma; “a modern take on oatmeal raisin cookies with Greek yogurt chips&period;&rdquor;

GSACPC will also be testing customer demand for a gluten free cookie&comma; called Toffee-tastic&period; It’s a buttery shortbread with toffee bits&period; It sells for &dollar;5 a box&comma; a dollar more than the other flavors&comma; and available in very limited quantity&period;

These new flavors join the traditional favorites&colon; Thin Mints&comma; Samoas&comma;&period;&period;&period;

Girls have the power to Discover, Connect and Take Action—and have fun doing it.

Brownies in Troop 2437 working on their World of Girls Journey, participated in the We Are All In campaign with Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center. The campaign supports anyone battling cancer by sharing words of encouragement through a video.

The girls recited a poem together and then each girl shared a heartfelt and hopeful message with the patients. These Brownies exemplify the Girl Scout spirit of service and helping others. Check out their video here!

To support patients battling cancer, share your words of encouragement by visiting We Are All In.

In a series of interviews with female members of the United States Congress&comma; Girl Scouts across the country sat down with their Congresswomen to learn about their individual leadership journeys and discover what inspired them to take on leadership roles&period;

The interviews gave Girl Scouts an opportunity to ask Members of Congress for advice about the skills and the character girls will need to develop in order to lead our world in the twenty-first century&period; Seventy percent of the women in the U&period;S&period; Senate and 57 percent of the women in the House of Representatives are Girl Scout alumnae&semi; but regardless of whether or not they were Girl Scouts&comma; each Congresswoman spoke of the value of having an organization such as Girl Scouts to help girls develop leadership qualities&period;

Girls Scouts profiled women members of Congress—both Republicans and Democrats—to highlight their advice to girls everywhere who aspire to become leaders in their communities&period;

No matter how you celebrate or who you celebrate with, wishing everyone a joyous and merry Holiday Season!

Because of the way the holidays fall this year, and in recognition for their work over the year, council staff is being given two extra days off: Dec. 26 and Jan 2. In addition, we are encouraging staff members to use their vacation time for the rest, so as not to lose it. Although the council offices and shop will be closed, essential staff will continue to check their emails and respond if necessary, as well as participate in previously scheduled council activities.

A troop leader works directly with girls to develop leadership skills, pursue outdoor experiences, Take Action in their communities and discover the world around them.

Troop leader, Michelle, has been guiding Troop 634 for the past 10 years. This troop has accomplished many projects and activities by earning 10 badges, My Promise My Faith pins, a Leadership Award and a Silver Award.

“I may set the stage and guide them, but without their big hearts and hard work, our troop would not be as successful as they are today,” says Michelle.

One of the things Troop 634 learned from Michelle is to use resources wisely.

For one of their Take Action projects, the girls decided to donate items to Packages from Home. They put their resourcefulness to use buying clearance and off-season items. For instance, they bought 69 backpacks for just a $1 each and 523 hand sanitizer bottles for .04 cents each!

Michelle is definitely teaching these girls to develop skills and confidence that will last a lifetime.

If you want to be the role model she’ll always remember, volunteer now!

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Brownies of Troop 1010 made hand-crafted gifts to benefit patients fighting cancer. This troop set a goal of knitting 40 hats, but they did not meet this goal. In fact, they doubled this goal and made 75 hats! Way to go, girls!

Breast cancer is one of the most misunderstood cancers in the world. It can affect both women and men, and claims the lives of more than 400,000 people every year.

In July, the APS Foundation awarded more than $1 million to nine nonprofit groups in Arizona, including GSACPC, to support STEM programs. We received $60,000 to support Imagine STEM, which includes workshops throughout the state, program boxes for use in troop settings, training for adult volunteers and parents, and two additional Lego League robotics team for girls. We are grateful to have APS Foundation, who understands the value of Girl Scouting and its long-term impact on girls.

Engage in hands-on workshop experiences in biology, chemistry and other science fields. Interact with the new “Earth Explorers” exhibit, earn an “Imagine Your STEM Future” patch, and spend a day exploring the Arizona Science Center! Sign up now before registration closes on December 8 (http://bit.ly/1FrtVF1)!

Arizona Cactus-Pine council is enthusiastic about the advancements Girl Scouts of the U&period;S&period;A&period; is making in many areas of the Girl Scout experience&comma; including the Digital Cookie program announced by GSUSA through this press release yesterday&period;

While Digital Cookie represents an exciting enhancement of the Cookie Program&comma; the virtual sales platform that launches in the 2014–2015 cookie season is simply phase one of what will become a much broader and more robust program&comma; and Girl Scouts of Arizona Cactus-Pine &lpar;GSACPC&rpar; is not among the councils participating in this initial phase of the program&period; GSACPC will evaluate phase one of the Digital Cookie platform at the end of the current cookie season and make a decision about its implementation in our council for the 2015–2016 cookie season&period;

This means for the 2015 cookie season&colon;

GSACPC girls will not be accepting payment for cookies over the internet GSACPC girls will initiate sales through an email marketing platform &lpar;Cookie Club&rpar; to accept cookie orders&comma; then collect payment at time of delivery GSACPC girls will utilize social media &lpar;following internet safety guidelines&rpar; to encourage customers to find cookie booths with the&period;&period;&period;

Today&comma; thousands of girls want to join a Girl Scout troop&comma; but they are on waiting lists because there is a shortage of Girl Scout volunteers to offer the necessary support&comma; encouragement&comma; and guidance that all Girl Scouts need along the way&period;

Volunteers are the heart and soul of Girl Scouts— they are our everyday heroes&period; Volunteers enable girls to dream big and to realize that they’re capable of more than they ever imagined&period; And because volunteers play such a vital role in delivering the Girl Scout experience&comma; they deserve top-notch resources and training&comma; and all the support we can provide for them&period;

But right now&comma; we’re also facing a shortage of funds needed to identify&comma; recruit&comma; and train new volunteers&period;

That’s where you come in&period; Your investment will help us support new volunteers and bring the best to our 11&comma;000 volunteers in central and northern Arizona&period; Whether they are moms&comma; dads&comma; college students&comma; or Girl Scout alumnae&comma; they need your support to empower the next generation of girls&period;

When you invest in Girl Scouts you’re helping us recruit and keep volunteers who impact the lives of countless girls by generously offering their time and talents&period;

After all&comma; girls can’t change the world when they’re stuck on a waiting list&period;

Here are two steps you can take today to help increase the number of volunteers and bring the power of Girl Scouts to more girls&colon;

1&period; Invest in Girl Scouts locally with a donation to suppo&period;&period;&period;

Congratulations to Melissa Siaotong, Angela Bargon, Carissa Deciccio, and Amy Montogomery for being the first four recipients of the “Grow a Garden” pin! With this program, these dedicated volunteers are helping our Council grow with our adult volunteers in offering the Girl Scout experience to a greater number of girls in Arizona.

We appreciate all they do for Girl Scouting! For more information on how you can get involved with this program, click here.

Arizona Cactus-Pine is launching a Member Engagement Initiative this membership year. This exciting initiative is aimed at improving the volunteer experience and bringing Girl Scouting to more girls. To fulfill these goals we are launching an updated website and Volunteer Toolkit!

The website will launch November 19! Not only will it be easy to navigate, but its fresh new look is consistent with the Girl Scout brand and aligns Arizona Cactus-Pine with other councils across the country.

The Volunteer Toolkit is currently scheduled to launch in March. Leaders will be able to easily plan and manage troop activities for the year, and have access to important resources to help deliver the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. Continue checking your email for more information and details on this new resource as we get closer.

Be sure to take a look around!

*Note: Some of you may remember that we launched a new website last April. However, we were unable to integrate the Volunteer Toolkit with this website. For this reason, we have decided to use GSUSA’s new website template.

&NewLine;Hundreds of GSACPC community supporters gathered at the Arizona Biltmore on November 15 to celebrate current and emerging leaders at the Women and Young Women of Distinction luncheon&period; The distinguished honorees set a powerful example of “what could be&rdquor; and gave an inspirational glimpse into a future led by our most valuable asset—our girls&period;

Girls who receive the Young Woman of Distinction honor stand out on college and scholarship applications&comma; have the opportunity to network with prominent community leaders&comma; and are featured in the media&period; Nominate a Woman or Young Woman of Distinction for 2015 by contacting Leslie Friedman at lesliefriedman&commat;girlscoutsaz&period;org&period;

The event was a result of enormous effort and generosity by many people and organizations&period; Thank you to our Presenting Sponsor&comma; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona&comma; for their continued support and belief in the Girl Scout mission&period; We also thank Carstens Family Funds&comma; Arizona Lottery&comma; L&period; Roy Papp & Associates&comma; Wells Fargo and Arizona State University&comma; Entrepreneurship & Innovation&period;

Families, friends and community members attended the Investiture Ceremony for Troop 2747 in Kykotsmovi Village, home of the Hopi Tribe. Daisies, Brownies, Juniors and Cadettes received their official Girl Scout pin, girl guide and backpack as they were welcomed into the Girl Scout Sisterhood.

The girls had big smiles on their faces as they wore their uniforms for the first time. This meaningful ceremony symbolizes the girls’ first step of building courage, confidence and character to ultimately make the world a better place!

A Daisy begins her Girl Scout journey by discovering herself, earning recognitions and connecting with new friends. Kayla, a Daisy from Troop 819 definitely started her Fall Product Sale on the right foot. While selling Fall Product, she met her neighbor, Ellie, a former Girl Scout during the late 1930s.

Ellie shared stories with Kayla about her scouting experience during the Great Depression. Some of the things her troop members made were blankets for troops overseas and rationed food staples like butter, sugar and flour.

Women and Young Women of Distinction celebrate current and emerging female leaders&period; But we will also recognize three community members with the Promise Award&period; This award honors a woman&comma; a man and an organization&comma; who although are not Girl Scout alumni&comma; have modeled the Girl Scout values in their work&period; Through their tremendous efforts and willingness to embrace the next generation of leadership&comma; they are helping girls build a brighter future&excl;

Meet the Promise Award honorees now&excl; Judy Jolley Mohraz is the first president and CEO of the Virginia G&period; Piper Charitable Trust&comma; and now a Trustee&period; She furthered the vision of Virginia G&period; Piper and built a vibrant foundation supporting arts and culture&comma; children&comma; education&comma; healthcare&comma; older adults and religious organizations throughout Maricopa County&period; Harry Papp&comma; the Managing Director of L&period; Roy Papp & Associates&comma; is a dedicated servant whose charitable endeavors touch every sector of the community&comma; including the Phoenix Zoo&comma; Arizona State University&comma; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and GSACPC&period; With two daughters of his own&comma; he is passionate about expanding and providing opportunities to all girls&period;&period;&period;&period;

Ambassador Troop 82 is taking action to make the world a better place. These ladies focused on making reading fun for Daisies and Brownies by creating Storytime with the Princesses. By dressing up as princesses, reading stories, taking pictures, signing autographs, and even signing in American Sign Language, they are making reading fun for their sister Girl Scouts!

Due to their outstanding efforts, APS Electric Light Parade and UMOM Walk for Homeless Families have invited the girls to march in the parade and greet onlookers. To ensure their work lives on, Troop 82 has taught another troop how to host princess reading events.

Don’t miss the opportunity to see the girls first hand walking in this year’s APS Electric Light Parade on December 6. It will be the fourth year the girls have marched in the parade.

Women of Distinction honorees impact stretches far beyond us&period;

Women and Young Women of Distinction celebrate&comma; recognize&comma; and honor outstanding women and young women who have experienced the power of Girl Scouting in their lives and made significant contributions to their community&period; They are recognized leaders among their peers and serve as role models for us all&excl;

Meet the Women of Distinction honorees now&excl;&NewLine;

Diane Enos is the president of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community&comma; and the second woman to hold this office&period; She was the first member of the Salt River Indian Community to become a lawyer&period; She has spent her entire professional life in community service&comma; promoting education and creating opportunities for the traditional O’odham &lpar;Pima&rpar; and Piipaash &lpar;Maricopa&rpar; way of life to flourish&period; Kate Gallego is the first woman to represent District 8 on the Phoenix City Council&period; She serves as Vice-Chair of the Plan Phoenix initiative and is focused on economic development for the city&period; She is also an avid volunteer serving on a number of boards and is an advocate for volunteers and national service programs&period; Mitzi Montoya is the new Vice President and Dean of Entrepreneurship & Innovation Group at Arizona State University and serves on the board of the Center fo&period;&period;&period;

Sophia Braccio, of Troop 700, could be the youngest newspaper reporter, manager and publisher, ever. Sophia’s first newspaper was launched when she was just in third grade.

A naturally curious person, Sophia loved hearing the opinions of others. This eventually led to the desire to share those opinions with others, so she created a newspaper called The 3rd Word.

Her class loved the newspaper, so she continued to publish it monthly. Now in fourth grade, Sophia has releasedThe 4th Republic, which she has expanded to include a sports column, poll section, comic strip and much more! Along with the expansion, came a team of students passionate about journalism. Sophia puts the leadership she learned in Girl Scouts into action while managing a comic strip artist, sports writer and reporters. Wow!

“Leadership isn't a one-time thing&period; It’s a character trait that can be demonstrated anytime and anywhere&comma;&rdquor; says Hannah&comma; this year’s honoree for Girl Scouts’ Women & Young Women of Distinction Leadership Award&period;

And Hannah should know&period; She is a leader in nearly every facet of her life&period; From the classroom&comma; to the volleyball court&comma; to her community at-large&comma; she naturally gravitates toward leadership roles&period; A Girl Scout since the age of 6&comma; being part of a troop provided valuable lessons in team work and advocacy that have molded her into the leader she is today&period;

An ambitious student&comma; Hannah shatters stereotypes that assume girls aren’t good at STEM &lpar;science&comma; technology&comma; engineering and math&rpar;&period; With dreams of majoring in engineering after she graduates from Perry High School&comma; Hannah is in the STEM Scholar Program and takes advanced STEM classes&period; Her academic efforts are balanced with being a star-player on her volleyball team&period; This is where she is most proud of her leadership&comma; both on and off the court&period;

On the court&comma; Hannah has helped lead her team to their first-ever State Championship tournament&period; Despite her team’s success&comma; Hannah noticed a lack of support from fellow classmates and the community&period;&period;&period;&period;

Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council’s &lpar;GSACPC&rpar; Carol Ackerson has been selected as one of the Phoenix Business Journal’s “Outstanding CFOs&rdquor; for 2014&period; This honor identifies the best CFOs in the Valley&comma; those who have compiled a track record of financial success in their organizations&period; They are based on accomplishments&comma; business ethics&comma; leadership&comma; education&comma; community involvement&comma; entrepreneurial spirit and other positive traits&period;

With nearly 40 years of nonprofit management under her belt&comma; Ackerson has served GSACPC as Chief Financial and Operational Officer – or&comma; C-FOO as she dubs it – for nearly ten years&period; She works in close partnership with GSACPC CEO&comma; Tamara Woodbury&comma; to lead the entire organization toward goals to ultimately “serve more girls&comma; and serve girls more&period;&rdquor; Since joining GSACPC&comma; she has led the council to a 52 percent growth in total operating budget while supporting the launch of the Campaign for Girls&comma; a capital campaign with the goal of raising &dollar;15 million in philanthropic support&period;

From a number of qualified nominations Ackerson is one of ten people being honored by PBJ’s advisory board of judges&period; She will be recognized at the Outstanding CFO luncheon on Oct&period; 23 and in a special print supp&period;&period;&period;

It's never easy if your home catches on fire, but it can be especially hard for children. That’s why Troop 613 is giving back to the community by collecting teddy bears for kids in crisis.

"I know a lot of people lost their homes and I thought I would be sad if I lost something, so what better to comfort a child than a teddy bear?" says Girl Scout Junior, Emily.

Troop 613 came up with the idea when they were exploring ways to earn their Bronze Award. The girls worked diligently. They spent a year planning and learning how their work could benefit the community. They ultimately decided to host a teddy bear drive benefitting Phoenix Fire Station 42.

For their remarkable efforts, Troop 613 was featured on News Channel 12 and Arizona Republic.

“Sometimes courage means having the gumption to stand up for what you believe in and fight hard for someone who can’t fight for themselves&period; It’s looking past road blocks and taking your sadness and grief and not letting it break you&comma; but letting it lift you up and make something better and full of hope&comma;&rdquor; Brittanee says&period;

She will be one of the Girl Scouts honored at the Women and Young Women of Distinction luncheon in November&period;

A junior at Shadow Mountain high school&comma; Brittanee has found the courage to help those who are unable to help themselves&period;

Brittanee says her sixteenth birthday&comma; in February 2014&comma; was the worst day of her life&period; The phone call she received with the news of her best friend’s suicide changed her life forever&period; What followed was profound grief and obsessive wondering if she had done everything she could to help her friend&period;

“At some point during my sadness&comma; I realized that I needed to be courageous and strong for myself if I was ever going to get over his death&period;&rdquor;

From this tragedy&comma; came Brittanee’s idea for her Girl Scout Gold Award service project&comma; “Stifle the Silence&period;&rdquor; Her focus is not only to raise awareness about teen suicide&comma; but also on how to recognize warning signs&comma; and how to&period;&period;&period;

For more than 100 years&comma; Girl Scouts has been making a positive impact in the lives of girls&period; The Barbara Anderson Girl Scout Museum explores the rich history of both Arizona Girl Scouts and the Girl Scouts organization as a whole&period;

A former Girl Scouts-Arizona Cactus-Pine Council &lpar;GSACPC&rpar; staff member&comma; Barbara Anderson was inspired by the heritage of Girl Scouts&period; In 1986&comma; she donated her large collection of Girl Scout memorabilia to GSACPC&comma; where she led a small group of volunteers and staff called the Historical Society &lpar;currently known as the History Committee&rpar; in cataloging and preserving the items&period; With Barbara’s lifelong commitment to Girl Scouting&comma; her ultimate goal was to open a museum to showcase Girl Scouts’ proud history&period; As her collection grew over the years&comma; archives went from being stored in a room&comma; a warehouse&comma; and now in the Heritage Center&period; Finally&comma; in 1999&comma; her goal was achieved&period; The Barbara Anderson Girl Scout Museum opened at the Girl Scout Council Shop on Third Street and Clarendon in Downtown Phoenix&period;

To this day&comma; members of the History Committee continue Barbara’s legacy through curating memorabilia and making it accessible to the community&period; If you want to be part of preserving Girl Scout history&comma; the History Committee meets at the Heritage Center from 9am-2pm on Wednesdays&period; New volunteers are welcomed&period;

The museum features a unique exhibit each year&period; Don’t miss out on this year’s

“Many thanks to Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council for 12 years of Scouting experience as a young girl and developing the courage&comma; confidence&comma; and character that I have carried throughout my adult life&comma;&rdquor; says Gretchen Erickson&comma; Girl Scout Alumna&period;

Gretchen Erickson remembers the exact day she became a Brownie in 1969&period; It was a day that linked her in becoming a lifelong member of Girl Scouts&period;

Throughout Gretchen’s 45 years of active scouting&comma; she has achieved many accomplishments&period; Not only did Girl Scouts provide her with lessons of leadership and citizenship&comma; but it taught her how to be a sister to every Girl Scout&period;

After graduating as a Senior scout in 1980&comma; Gretchen continued her commitment to Girl Scouting&period; She got married into the military life with her husband&comma; Mark&comma; which enabled her to travel to five different Girl Scout councils around the nation&period;

She started a patch program called The President’s Patch in 2011&comma; which was earned by submitting Girl Scout stories&period; Within two years&comma; Gretchen collected 500 stories&period;

“It was at this point I became a Lifetime Member of Girl Scouting&period; I was hooked on sharing the experience with not only girls&comma; but adults to make this world a better place&comma;&rdquor; Gretchen says&period;

Now&comma; with more than 16 years at the Girl Scout Council of the Florida Panhandle &lpar;GSCFP&rpar;&comma; Gretchen has served as a troop leader&comma; trainer&comma; association chair&comma; national delegate&comma; board secretary&comma;&period;&period;&period;

On any given Friday during her junior year&comma; Ariel Carr could be found sneaking into her high school’s office&comma; concealing a bouquet of flowers in a big black trash bag&period; The flowers were handed off to a secretary&comma; who then selected a teacher at random to receive them&period; Filled with happiness knowing that her kind act would bring a smile to someone’s face&comma; Ariel would go on with her day as usual&period;

Out of this routine&comma; Ariel’s idea for her Girl Scout Gold Award service project was born&period; “Keep it Kind&rdquor; is a pay-it-forward kindness initiative&period; It works like this&colon; Ariel does a kind act for someone&period; Then she hands the recipient a “Keep it Kind&rdquor; card&comma; challenging the recipient to perform a kind act for someone else and pass the card along&period; Thus&comma; Ariel’s first kind act creates a thread of kind gestures that could&comma; in theory&comma; last forever&period;

"It's rare to see people go out of their way in everyday life to make some else's day&comma;&rdquor; Ariel says&comma; adding that doing a good deed can be as simple as asking how someone’s day is going&comma; and then really listening&period; “The gratitude that you feel after receiving a random act of kindness is special&period; I want to share that feeling with as many people as possible&comma;&rdquor; Ariel says&period;

A busy student&comma; tennis player and avid volunteer&comma; Ariel knows how easy it is to get caught up in the routines of day-to-day&period;&period;&period;

Girl Scouts are constantly giving back to the community. Troop 1957 has partnered up with former Girl Scout, Dr. Jeannette MacLean, at Affiliated Children’s Dental, to collect non-perishable food items at her office through November. The donations will benefit St. Mary’s Food Bank. What a great way to get an early start collecting donations before the holiday season! Help out by dropping off some goods at ACD.

Check out the 2014 fall issue of the Listening Post to see what’s going on in the GSACPC community&excl;

&NewLine;

Program Basics - Get basic information about our programs and upcoming activities&period;

&NewLine;

Coucil Shop News - Since it’s a new Girl Scout year&comma; why not get some new gear&quest; Order the Girl Scout Starter Kit and see how you can get the latest GSUSA catalog &lpar;full of coupons&excl;&rpar;

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Seen & Heard - Are you or someone you know featured in this issue’s Seen & Heard&quest; Find out now and browse troop notes and event highlights&excl;

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Volunteer Spotlight - A Girl Scout dad shares his story about the impact Girl Scouting has on his relationship with his daughters&period;

Girl Scout&comma; HollyAnne&comma; of Troop 634 has created a district-wide phenomenon through her volunteer work with Color a Smile&comma; a non-profit organization that focuses on distributing colored pictures to nursing homes&comma; military troops overseas&comma; and anyone in need of a smile&period;

“Color a Smile is a very fun way for kids to volunteer&comma; and some of them don’t even know it&comma; because they’re just having a lot of fun coloring&comma;&rdquor; said HollyAnne&period;

HollyAnne decided to work on a service project with her Girl Scout troop by coloring a ton of pictures&comma; which ended up being distributed all over the nation&period;

For her efforts&comma; HollyAnne was recognized by AmTrust Bank and featured on ABC 15’s Sonoran Living for making a positive impact in the community&period; It’s all part of the AmTrust Caring Kid Contest&period;

For being a Caring kid&comma; Hollyanne received an AmTrust Bank Kids Account funded with &dollar;150&period; And what did she do with the money&quest; Exactly what any Girl Scout would do – she donated it all to Color a Smile to help with coloring supplies for volunteers&excl;

We know that Girl Scouts are making BIG differences in their communities every day&period; Share what you or a Girl Scou&period;&period;&period;

Cadettes and Ambassadors from Troop 1156 spent an afternoon helping those in need at the Paz de Cristo Community Center in Mesa. The girls helped prepare and serve the daily meal provided by the center in addition to assisting with clean up duties.

Girl Scouts—Arizona Cactus-Pine Council &lpar;GSACPC&rpar; invites everyone to celebrate the remarkable impact girls and women have in our community at their 2014 Women & Young Women of Distinction luncheon&comma; on November 15 at the Arizona Biltmore&period; The honorees are outstanding individuals who are paving the way to a brighter future through their leadership and service to the community&period; They also share a common bond&colon; their values and leadership got started through being a Girl Scout&period;

The luncheon&comma; GSACPC’s only fundraising event during the year&comma; presents an excellent opportunity for the community to celebrate current and rising female leaders and for Girl Scout alumnae to reunite with fellow Girl Scouts or their former troop members&period; The event will be a time to revisit memories&comma; network and find out what’s new in Girl Scouting in Arizona&period;

“Girls represent our greatest under-utilized talent pool with the greatest potential to positively impact our future&comma;&rdquor; says Lisa Urias&comma; this year’s event chair and president and CEO of Urias Communications&period;&rdquor; The luncheon is the perfect way to get off the side lines and be part of the girl movement&period; It’s an opportunity to support girls as they develop the courage&comma; confidence and skills needed to step forward and lead the next generation&comma;&rdquor; Urias says&period;

The Distinction Awards celebrate girls and women who are recogniz&period;&period;&period;

Every year&comma; Girl Scouts and volunteers gather at the Annual Meeting to celebrate the year’s accomplishments&period; The 2014 meeting&comma; held in April at the Sheraton in downtown Phoenix&comma; was unprecedented – it was 100 percent girl-led and girl-designed&period; And when girls lead&comma; great things are accomplished&period;

Not only is the meeting the culmination of a fabulous Girl Scout year&comma; but it also sets the tone for what girls hope to achieve in the coming year&period; And the girls were clear&colon; they plan on continuing the Girl Scout tradition of building strong&comma; female leaders&period; However&comma; this time they had some words of advice for the adults in their lives&period;

“Our team talked a lot about what adults can do to help us learn to lead and be independent&period; There’s no real background required&period; It’s more about attitude&comma;&rdquor; says Ellie&comma; one of the girls on the planning committee for the Annual Meeting&period;

For the rest of us&comma; the message was clear&period; Our smart and confident young women are absolutely redefining leadership to build momentum for the Girl Scout movement&period; As we continue to move forward&comma; we'll lean into our sisterhood and community connection for renewed energy to achieve our vision&period;

Are you&comma; or do you know&comma; a Senior or Ambassador who would like to stretch her leadership skills and work with a group of dedicated Girl Scouts on designing&comma; planning and implementing the 2015 Annual Meeting&quest; If so&comma; contact Amanda Martin at &period;&period;&period;

Lyn, Rose and Erin, members of Troop 1594, are being recognized for their incredible Bronze Award service project! Their project was extra special because they used their leadership skills to garner the support of Girl Scouts from Gilbert, Mesa and Queen Creek. The three girls taught a group of 32 scouts to sew bags and then donated the homemade bags to foster children and veterans. Way to go girls!

Girl Scout alum Morgan Serventi from Page&comma; Arizona&comma; continues to earn accolades for her humanitarian service project&comma; “The Power of Poo&rdquor; — this time from Girl Scouts of the USA&period; GSUSA has named her a 2014 National Young Woman of Distinction&comma; an honor only bestowed on 10 girls across the country&period;

“We are delighted to see Morgan recognized nationally with this great honor&period; Her commitment&comma; innovation and leadership have resulted in a sustainable solution that brings water and heat to a small Kenyan village and beyond&comma;" said Tamara Woodbury&comma; CEO of Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council&period;

Last November&comma; Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council recognized Morgan with their Young Women of Distinction Award&comma; which celebrates rising female leaders&period; This year’s Women & Young Women of Distinction award luncheon will be held on November 15 at the Arizona Biltmore Resort&period;

Morgan’s project brought heat&comma; light&comma; and pure water to the small village of Wamba&comma; Kenya&comma; and has also been adopted by a community on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona&period; Her project is sustainable&comma; ecologically brilliant&comma; and affordable for families who live on less than we can imagine&period;

Morgan had firsthand knowledge about cattle since she raises steers&comma; sheep and lambs in 4-H&period; So she decided to design and build a methane biodige&period;&period;&period;

As Ambassador Troop 881 heads off to college, they are leaving a huge gift for future Girl Scout campers. The troop, who earned money through cookie sales over the years, decided to donate their remaining funds of $1,250 dollars to go toward camperships. The girls said they had been hugely impacted by Girl Scout camp and are thrilled that they are able to give the camp experience to sister scouts. Their generosity is exemplary of the Girl Scout spirit, way to go girls!

Girl Scouts really is great for everyone&excl; While there are possibly too many positive outcomes associated with being a member of Girl Scouts to list&comma; there is some compelling research which illustrates just how good Girl Scouts is&period;

Results of a summer 2014 pulse poll conducted with more than 3&comma;500 volunteers and parents of Girl Scouts in the K−5 age range show positive effects on members of all ages&period; Ninety-seven percent of parents agree that Girl Scouts has been a positive activity for their daughter&comma; that she has had fun and exciting new experiences &lpar;95 percent&rpar;&comma; and that she has learned or tried something new &lpar;96 percent&rpar;&period; In addition&comma; 94 percent of parents say that because of Girl Scouts&comma; their daughter feels special&comma; has more friends &lpar;95 percent&rpar;&comma; is more confident &lpar;90 percent&rpar;&comma; and is happier &lpar;89 percent&rpar;&period;

While GSUSA boasts more than two million members nationwide&comma; there are more than 30&comma;000 girls on waiting lists who want to join Girl Scouts but can’t because there are not enough volunteers in local communities to help deliver the Girl Scout experience&period; Data shows it is not just girls who benefit from participating in the organization&colon; 94 percent of volunteers have made new friends&comma; 88 percent believe their life is better because they volunteer with Girl Scouts&comma; and two-thirds believe their volunteer experience has helped them professionally&period; Ninety-five percent of Girl Scout volunteers are happy knowing they are making girls’ lives better&period;

The Fall Product Program is a council-sponsored money earning activity which supports Arizona Girl Scouts and girl learning&excl; Proceeds from the program fund the troop and council wide operations&comma; all while girls learn key skills&period;

Why should my troop participate&quest;

Participation in the program provides girls an opportunity to generate funds for troop fun and adventure&period; The program also encourages budding entrepreneurs to practice goal setting&comma; decision making&comma; money management&comma; people skills&comma; and business ethics&period;

How does it work&quest;

Girls sell nuts and candy&comma; magazines subscriptions and photo keepsakes to friends and family&period; Girl Scouts at any age level are allowed to participate&period; Just make sure you are currently registered and if you are in a troop&comma; make sure your troop is registered&comma; too&period;

Where do girls sell&quest;

It’s a “friends and family&rdquor; sale&period; So&comma; girls can reach out to their close network face-to-face and&sol;or through a secure online program&period;

When Nichelle Williams signed her daughters up for Girl Scouts&comma; she had no idea how deeply her family would be affected&period;

“I signed my daughters up for Girl Scouts to help develop their leadership skills&comma; give them opportunities to try new things and make lifelong friends&period; Initially&comma; I did not choose to volunteer for Girl Scouts&period; I was one of those moms who just wanted to help&comma;&rdquor; says Nichelle Williams&comma; who has now been a GSACPC volunteer for more than 13 years&period; “Over time&comma; a helping mom naturally becomes a volunteer&comma;&rdquor; she adds&period;

Nichelle is currently a troop leader&comma; a trainer for other volunteers&comma; and a member of her Community Practice Team&period; She has two daughters&comma; Jordan and Justice&comma; who are both Girl Scouts&period; She says that one of the biggest benefits of volunteering with Girl Scouts&comma; is the opportunity to spend time with her daughters as they develop their values and morals&period;

“Jordan&comma; Justice and I have an awesome relationship&excl; Now that they are both teens ready to graduate high school&comma; I really love that they feel so comfortable to talk to me about anything and everything&comma;&rdquor; Nichelle says&comma; adding that not too many parents get to experience this type of honest and open communication with their teenage daughters&period;

Girl Scouts asks all parents and adults to consider becoming a volunteer&period; To get connected to the Girl Scout community and more information&comma; visit http&colon;&sol;&sol;girlscout&period;&period;&period;

Hey, you! How do you get in the game? Are you a rock star goalie who guarantees nothing hits your team’s net, or a track champ who helped your relay team get the gold? Girls across America are getting out and getting active, lacing up those sneakers and playing some of their favorite sports. Are you one of them? Show off your skills in our new challenge!

Through GirlSports, a partnership between Girl Scouts and Nestle, we’re dedicated to showcasing girls like you—girls who know the importance of staying healthy through physical activity. After all, the benefits of exercising and playing sports are endless. Not only will you maintain a healthy heart and stay fit, but through our GirlSports challenge, you can win BIG!

Here’s how to participate:

Upload a creative photo to the GSUSA Facebook page of you staying active through sports.

Rally your friends and family to vote on your photo.

Pretty easy, right?

Keeping in line with the sports theme, we’ll be picking three winners of the GirlSports challenge—third, second, and first place, or bronze, silver, and gold, if you will. These champs will win:

First place: $300 gift card plus GirlSports merchandise bundle

Second place: $150 gift card plus GirlSports merchandise bundle

Third place: GirlSports merchandise bundle

So what are you waiting for? Get up. Get active. Play GirlSports. Win big!

Every year&comma; the FIRST LEGO League&NewLine;&lpar;FLL&rpar; challenges children and teens ages 9 to 14 to critically think about&NewLine;real-life problems and how they can be solved&period; This year&comma; the theme was&NewLine;“Nature’s Fury&period;&rdquor; Participants had to come up with innovative solutions to&NewLine;problems caused by natural disasters&period; Of the six Girl Scout teams that competed&NewLine;last season&comma; Got Cookies and The Lego Ladies earned&NewLine;accolades from the judges&period;

The Lego Ladies consisted of eight Juniors and Cadettes from Troops 362 and 436&period; The girls chose to focus on avalanches and worked to solve the problem of young adults ignoring safety advisories at Kachina Peaks in northern Arizona&period;

stacle course required for the project&comma; researching possible solutions&comma; laughing over their favorite snacks and working as a team&period;

Their hard work paid off&period; In the South Phoenix regional tournament&comma; the Lego Ladies took home the Robot Showcase Award&comma; which recognizes initiative in promoting technology and innovation&period;

Tournament Regional Director&comma; Levar Patterson&comma; said “The Lego Ladies received the award&comma; in part because of their gracious professionalism&period; They demonstrated poise and the spirit of friendly cooperation throughout the competition&period; They also had such beautiful things to say about one of their coaches&period; In fact&comma; their persuasi&period;&period;&period;

Girl Scout Ambassadors Kaylynn and Sommer each won a scholarship at the Juneteenth Scholarship Competition at last month!

Juneteenth is the combination of the words June and nineteenth, and is a time to come together and celebrate the rich cultural history of African Americans in the U.S.

The day celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. It specifically celebrates the state of Texas announcing the abolishment of slavery in 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863.

“Around the U&period;S&period;&comma; and even right here in Arizona&comma; people spend far less time in nature than even 25 or 50 years ago&period; Urbanization and technology has drastically changed people’s relationship with nature&comma;&rdquor; says Dr&period; Denise Mitten&comma; Graduate Chair of Adventure Education at Prescott College&period; Dr&period; Mitten has spent many years studying the positive effects of nature on people’s overall well-being&comma; and in turn&comma; the declining rate in which we take advantage of the world around us&period;

She says&comma; “Many aspects of our culture now teach people not to spend time in nature&period; Parents have become fearful about their children playing outdoors&comma; and children who grow up in primarily built environments often fear nature&comma; largely because it is unfamiliar&period;&rdquor;

Experiencing the outdoors is not just about getting active&period; The real benefits of nature come through what experts call ‘unstructured play’&period; This is unscheduled time&comma; where a child is able to be outside&comma; relying on her or his imagination for entertainment&period; Free play&comma; as opposed to games or structured activities&comma; is the most essential type&period; Many research studies have shown that it leads to positive physical&comma; cognitive and emotional brain development&period;

Outdoor activity in the form of ‘unstructured play’ is not as common for today’s children due to technology&comma; safety concerns and busy schedules&period; The Children & Nature Network notes that just 6&percnt; o&period;&period;&period;

Google announced an exciting new initiative—and Girl Scouts of the USA is excited to be part of it&period; Made With Code aims to change the way girls think about coding&comma; and inspire them to consider careers in computer science&period; The program includes&colon;

&NewLine;

A new site where girls can try Blockly-based coding projects like designing a 3D-printed bracelet&comma; learning to create animated GIFs&comma; and even building beats for a music track&period;

&NewLine;

A directory where volunteers&comma; girls&comma; and their parents can find additional coding resources and opportunities&comma; such as camps and clubs&period;

&NewLine;

Video profiles of girls and women who are using computer science in new and exciting ways&period;

&NewLine;

Here at Girl Scouts we know that Computer Science and coding is a critical skill that will give girls great power to create&comma; to innovate&comma; and quite literally change the world - but surprisingly few girls see Computer Science as part of their future&period; Girls simply don’t think coding is cool and they don’t connect it with things they are interested in&period;

Our goal is to demonstrate how coding can help girls to pursue&comma; and reach&comma; their dreams&period; Made with Code will encourage girls to write their own future and show them that it can take them anywhere&excl;

Google has also collaborated with other youth-serving organizations&comma; along with leaders in the tech industry and celebrities like Mindy Kaling&period; “Less than 1 percent of high school girls see computer science as part of&period;&period;&period;

Girl Scouts from Troop 491 gave back to communities around the world by packing meals for Feed My Starving Children. The meals are specifically formulated for malnourished children and are shipped to almost 70 countries.

Girl Scouts deserve to be recognized for good deeds like this! That is why YSA is calling on young change-makers to apply for a Summer of Service Award. Winners receive a $1,000 award to help make a lasting, positive change in the world. Get more info or apply now!

Do you want to get your troop involved in volunteering? Here is a list of organizations that have asked for Girl Scout volunteer participation.

Anything is possible with hard work and dedication! Troop 2259 reached their goal to earn and save enough money through Cookie Sales to pay for summer camp. Here they are “Up in the Trees” at Willow Springs!

The nonstop smiles on their faces and the never ending stories of adventure and fun certainly support the evidence that outdoor experiences will increase competence, build confidence and create a positive self-image!

Approximately 50 Girl Scouts were honored at the first annual Interfaith Tea for earning their My Promise My Faith pin and/or Religions of the World patch. They enjoyed the support of nearly 150 family and friends and refreshments too!

Haven’t heard about faith-centered Girl Scouting? That's ok!

Faith-centered Girl Scouting encourages a girl to be herself while learning who she is and what she values, study prominent women of her faith, participate in faith traditions and celebrations, put her faith into action to improve her community, and so much more! Imagine what an entire generation of girls can do, when given the skills, leadership experience, and a solid grounding in the principles of their own faith.

Participants from federal agencies&comma; nonprofit organizations and the recreation industry are again teaming up to host the 7th annual National Get Outdoors Day &lpar;GO Day&rpar; to encourage healthy&comma; active outdoor fun at sites across the nation&period; On Saturday&comma; June 14&comma; 2014&comma; these diverse partners will offer opportunities for American families to experience traditional and non-traditional types of outdoor activities&period; Prime goals of the day are reaching currently underserved populations and first-time visitors to public lands&comma; and reconnecting our youth to the great outdoors&period; GO Day is an outgrowth of the Get Outdoors USA&excl; campaign&comma; which encourages Americans&comma; especially our youth&comma; to seek out healthy&comma; active outdoor lives and embrace our parks&comma; forests&comma; refuges and other public lands and waters&period;

Along with getting outdoors and having a great time&comma; every girl in Girl Scouts can show her nature&comma; conservation and parks spirit with a colorful patch developed for National Get Outdoors Day&period; Check that out here&period;

What should you do to celebrate&quest; Here are some ideas&colon;

Take advantage of this deal for Salt River Tubing&period; Take a hike with some friends&period; Go for a&period;&period;&period;

According to a new study by the Girl Scout Research Institute &lpar;GSRI&rpar;&comma; More than S'mores &lpar;2014&rpar;&comma; girls benefit immensely from time spent outdoors&period; Girls who regularly spend time outdoors eclipse their peers who spend less time outdoors in environmental stewardship&comma; more readily seek challenges&comma; and are better problem solvers—all important traits in twenty-first century leadership&period; The study also found that Girl Scouts are twice as likely as non–Girl Scouts to say they take action to protect the environment &lpar;51&percnt; versus 23&percnt;&rpar; and that they’ve had a personal experience in nature that has made them appreciate it more &lpar;49&percnt; versus 29&percnt;&rpar;&period; “There is a moment when a child connects with nature&comma; and it changes their identity&comma; and it is our identity that impacts how we treat others&comma;&rdquor; says Dr&period; Denise Mitten&comma; an outdoor expert at Prescott College and researcher who works closely with GSACPC&period; Dr&period; Mitten was 8-years old when she first attended Girl Scout camp&comma; which was the starting point of a life-long commitment to nature and outdoor education&period; Dr&period; Mitten’s says that according to her research&comma; one of the best ways for girls to learn&period;&period;&period;

Cadette wins Arizona Spelling Bee and earns opportunity to compete in National Bee&period;

After 14 rounds of intense spelling competition at the Arizona Educational Foundation Spelling Bee&comma; the finalists were whittled down to two competitors&colon; Nila&comma; a Cadette from Tnd Christopher&comma; the returning champion from last year’s bee&period;

Nila and Christopher faced off in the final spell-off&comma; which lasted six rounds&period; When Christopher misspelled the word “effraction&comma;&rdquor; Nila corrected his spelling&comma; and spelled her word correctly&colon; “salvific&period;&rdquor;

Her reward was &dollar;800&comma; a dictionary&comma; a Rosetta Stone language course and an all-expenses paid trip to Washing D&period;C&period; to compete in the 87th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee&period;

May 28 marked the first day of the national competition&comma; where Nila placed 47th out of 281&period; This is a huge feat&comma; considering students from around the world compete to be in the bee&period; She was four points shy of making it to the semi-finals&period; The competition ends May 29&period;

Nila has quite the resume for a 12-year old seventh grader&period; In addition to being one of the top spellers in the nation&comma; Nila has been a Girl Scout since she was a Brownie&comma; is in the National Junior Honor Society&comma; the drama club&comma; the color guard and plays the French horn and viola&period;Her dedication&comma; hard work and courage are exemplary of the values taught through Girl Scouting&period; Way to go Nila&excl;

“Love Your Selfie ‘cause it’s the only one you’ve got&excl;&rdquor; This is the key message the troop of Girl Scouts from the Northern New Jersey Council decided to make the center point of the body image public service announcement &lpar;PSA&rpar; they created&period;

This morning&comma; the TODAY Show featured the GSNNJ troop and their PSA as part of its week-long focus on body image&period; The girls partnered with Jordana Mollick&comma; who is part of the Sundance Institute Women Filmmakers Initiative&comma; to help with shooting and editing the PSA&period;

Check out the clip to see the Girl Scouts in action&comma; filming and editing their powerful PSA&comma; as well as sharing their thoughts about body image&excl;

If you enjoyed seeing these Girl Scouts have fun making a positive PSA about body image&comma; why not make your own&quest;

GSUSA&comma; in partnership with the World Association of Girl Guide and Girl Scouts &lpar;WAGGGS&rpar; and Dove&comma; has launched Free Being Me—a global leadership program developed to give girls a safe space to strengthen their self-confidence&period;

PHOENIX &lpar;April 30&comma; 2014&rpar; – The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation has awarded &dollar;288&comma;000 to Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council to sustain and expand the capacity of the Girl Scouts Beyond Bars &lpar;GSBB&rpar; program&period; Girl Scouts Beyond Bars&comma; a groundbreaking prevention program&comma; empowers girls to not only reconnect with their imprisoned mothers&comma; but also break the intergenerational cycle of incarceration&period;

In Arizona&comma; 96&comma;000 children have a parent in jail or prison on any given day&period; These children are among the most vulnerable populations at-risk&period; Ashamed and often isolated these children are 5-7 times more likely to end up behind bars themselves&period;

Girl Scouts Beyond Bars helps girls bond with their incarcerated mothers to decrease the impact of parental separation during critical development years&period; Girls get to see their mothers regularly and work with them on activities that are designed to help develop leadership skills&comma; build confidence and encourage healthy decision-making&period; Through this shared Girl Scouting experience the program nurtures&comma; and in some cases reestablishes&comma; mother-daughter relationships&period; Additionally&comma; girls participate in a troop&comma; which provides opportunities to build supportive friendships with other young women in similar circumstances&period;

Girls with incarcerated parents may face unique obstacles&comma; but through GSBB they are simply Girl Scouts&period; They participa&period;&period;&period;

The numbers are now in&comma; and we are thrilled to announce that 2014 was the biggest cookie sale in the history of the council&period; Just over 17&comma;600 Girl Scouts sold more than 3&period;2 million boxes of cookies throughout the 6-week cookie sale in central and northern Arizona&period; That’s a 9&period;9 percent increase from last year as a result of big changes to their sales model and generous Arizonans&excl;

Here are some of the highlights from this year’s sale&colon;

&NewLine;

Girls sold 3&comma;242&comma;713 boxes of cookies

&NewLine;

On average&comma; each girl sold 184 boxes of cookies

&NewLine;

20 girls sold 2&comma;000&plus; boxes

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The top seller sold 5&comma;002 boxes

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Thin Mints are still the top sellers&excl; They received 34&percnt; of sales&comma; followed by Samoas® at 24&percnt;&comma; Tagalongs® at 16&percnt;&comma; Do-si-dos® at 10&percnt;&comma; Trefoils™ at 9&percnt; and Savannah Smiles® at 7&percnt;&period;

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Where does the cookie money go&period;&period;&period;&quest;

On top of individual and troop goals the girls set each year&comma; GSACPC worked toward an extra special goal of raising enough money to build two cabins at Camp Sombrero in South Phoenix&period; Council proceeds from packages sold over 3 million were designated toward this goal which amounted to &dollar;555&comma;800 dollars&excl; So&comma; the 2014 cookie sellers are now proud sponsors of the cabins&period; Go girls&excl;

In addition&comma; girls sold 106&comma;003 boxes of cookies for Gift of Caring&comma; a cookie donation program that allows customers to buy an extra box of cookies to help local Girl Scouts reach their goal&comma; and give&period;&period;&period;

Slumber parties are a rite of passage for girls and this summer&comma; GSACPC is teaming up with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Phoenix Mercury for two separate sleepovers that Girl Scouts will never forget&excl;

Girl Scout Night and Sleepover with Arizona Diamondbacks

June 20 &verbar; Chase Field &verbar; Tickets start at &dollar;14

&lpar;registration closes June 4&rpar;

Participants will actually get to SLEEP on Chase Field after enjoying a game&excl; Girls can arrive early &lpar;in uniform&excl;&rpar; and walk in the Girl Scout Parade around the field&period; After the game&comma; the night will be filled with fun activities like watching a movie on the jumbo-tron&comma; fireworks and games&period; The sleepover portion is open to Daisies through Ambassadors and their friends&period; Space is limited&period; Sign up today&period;

This overnight event is a Girl Scout favorite&excl; Family and friends are welcome to attend the game and Girl Scouts and their friends have the opportunity to take part in a sleepover&comma; dance clinic&comma; a career fair&comma; games and a pizza party&excl; There is a limited amount of space left&period;&nb&period;&period;&period;

Thanks for being part of GSACPC’s social media community&excl; Some of you may also have Neighborhood or Troop websites or troop-specific pages across a variety of social media platforms—and that’s great&excl; We welcome all opportunities for our girls and volunteers to connect and share their contributions with the community&period; However&comma; we want your social media connections to be safe and effective&comma; so please take a moment and review these guidelines and best practices&period;

Facebook

Be sure to check out all of our GSACPC groups&period;

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Troop Leaders – This group is for leaders and co-leaders to share meeting ideas&comma; troop stories&comma; and service projects&period; Or&comma; ask for suggestions from other troop leaders&excl;

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Service Team Members – Share ideas and best practices&excl;

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Independent Girl Members – Stay up-to-date on programs&comma; connect with and get ideas from other IGMs and share stories&excl;

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GSACPC is aware that many troop and neighborhood Facebook fan pages already exist&period; Please be advised that GSUSA has guidelines around internet safety and creating troop pages and websites&period;

Girl Scouts of the USA is proud of its 100-year relationship with the Catholic Church and is very pleased the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has included on its website pages titled "Questions and Answers About Girl Scouts of the USA and About Catholic Scouting" and "Background on Girl Scouts of the USA and USCCB Conversations&period;" The following documents and resources will help you better understand GSUSA's relationship with the Catholic Church and gain useful information about some of our programs&period;

A letter to the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry from GSUSA CEO Anna Maria Chávez affirming GSUSA's commitment to the partnership and our 500&comma;000 Catholic members&period; Independent third-party research resulted in the Alumnae Impact Study&comma; which found that Girl Scout alumnae demonstrate positive life outcomes to a greater degree than non-alumnae with regard to several key indicators&comma; in&period;&period;&period;

Prestigious Gold Award given to Girl Scouts for their&NewLine;impactful community service projects&period;

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Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council is proud to announce that&NewLine;26 Girl Scouts have received their Girl Scout Gold Award&comma; the highest honor a&NewLine;Girl Scout can receive&period;

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This prestigious award requires a girl to stretch her skills and step forward as a leader to meet a local or global need&comma; and to create sustainable change&period; In the process&comma; she develops and enhances her own leadership&comma; determination&comma; creativity and confidence&period; For many of these girls&comma; this award is the culmination of more than 10 years in the Girl Scouts&comma; and countless hours of dedication to their community&period;

The awardees are&colon;&NewLine;

Laura Abril

“Reading Buddies&rdquor;

Scottsdale

Laura’s Gold Award is a reading buddy program at Palomino Library that targets literacy issues and fosters a love of reading&period; Rather than a tutoring program&comma; the project empowers teenagers and children through mentorship&period;

Cori Ellen Ander

“Going Green for the Gold&rdquor;

On April 9&comma; Arizona will unite for Arizona Gives Day to recognize the valuable work non-profits do in our community and encourage people to donate to their favorite non-profit&period; Non-profits that receive the most donations can win up to &dollar;18&comma;000&period; Girl Scouts would like to be that organization&excl; And you can help us&period;&NewLine;&NewLine;You already know the important difference that Girl Scouting makes in girls’ lives and in our community&comma; but we want you to tell your friends&excl; Here are some ways you can help spread the word&colon;

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Use the images from our toolkit &lpar;below&rpar; to post about Arizona Gives Day&period;

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Use hashtags &num;azgives and &num;girlscoutsaz on Instagram and Twitter&period;

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Can’t think of what to say&quest; Here are some ideas&colon;

Share how Girl Scouting has had a positive impact in your or your daughter’s life&period; Your donation will make a difference&excl; Ten dollars pays for the books a Girl Scouts needs&comma; &dollar;15 pays for registration&comma; &dollar;20 pays for her vest and &dollar;300 will give her a 6-day outdoor experience at one of our camps&period; But any amount will make a difference&period; If you donate on Arizona Gives Day&comma; Girl Scouts could win up to &dollar;18&comma;000&excl; This money will go directly toward providing the programs that build girls of confidence&comma; courage and character who make the world a better place&period; Donations of &dollar;10 or more can be made at http&colon;&sol;&sol;azgives&period;razoo&period;com&sol;story&sol;gsacpc&period;You don’t have to wait to&period;&period;&period;

Founded by Juliette Gordon Low with 18 girls in Savannah, Georgia, on March 12, 1912—102 years ago—Girl Scouts of the USA was chartered by the United States Congress on March 16, 1950. Today, there are 3.2 million Girl Scouts in the U.S.: 2.3 million girl members and 890,000 adult members working primarily as volunteers.

The Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council (GSACPC) will celebrate the national organization’s 102nd birthday by serving Girl Scout Cookies & ice cream to 400 kids and their families, after the evening dinner service at St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP). The birthday falls during national Girl Scout Week, after the end of cookie season, so it’s an extra special treat for the crowd.

GSACPC formed Troop #5106 at St. Vincent de Paul seven months ago, which has grown to about 40 Girl Scouts of all ages. The girls are excited to celebrate what is, for many, their first Girl Scout birthday and take on a serving role for the center that has given them so much.

Help our girls change the future by changing the way we talk about it&period; Find out more and Pledge to Ban Bossy today&excl;

When a little boy asserts himself&comma; he's called a “leader&period;&rdquor; Yet when a little girl does the same&comma; she risks being branded “bossy&period;&rdquor; Words like bossy send a message&colon; don't raise your hand or speak up&period; By middle school&comma; girls are less interested in leading than boys—a trend that continues into adulthood&period; Together we can encourage girls to lead&period; As part of Ban Bossy&comma; Girl Scouts of the USA and LeanIn&period;org have teamed up in partnership with Lifetime television to create a PSA featuring Beyoncé&comma; Jane Lynch&comma; Condoleezza Rice&comma; Diane von Furstenberg&comma; Jennifer Garner and others that points out that girls are discouraged from taking leadership roles because of labeling and name-calling&period; Whether your are a parent&comma; educator&comma; or troop leader&comma; there are great resources to help your daughter realize the importance of banning bossy and stepping into leadership roles&period; Help our g&period;&period;&period;